Design Evaluation

Everyone has heard the saying, "Don't Judge a book by it's cover." But let's just admit it right now we all have. They are the reason we pick a book off the shelf; it catches our eye, it looks interesting. I absolutely love to read, but one of my biggest pet peeves is when they release new renditions of book covers. I am not saying all renditions are bad, but at least 90% of the time they make me want to scream.
So, when deciding what to do to represent good and poor design my mind automatically went to book covers. For my design evaluation I chose to focus on The Lost Hero and it's graphic novel counterpart. Throughout this evaluation I will be comparing these two covers using principles we have learned in class.
 As I began to evaluate these two cover the first thing that popped out to me was the color. In the original the turquoise bluish-gray color contrast greatly with the gold/bronze dragon making it stand out even more. The color and background also create an intriguing aspect to the cover which make the reader want to know more. Through the use of line we also see the intricate details of the dragon as well as the roofs of the building. The contrast in size between the three characters and the dragon gives us perspective. The cover is also balanced symmetrically from the center creating a law of closure.
The graphic novel, however, is quite different. For one, there is little to no background, unless you are counting the dragon-monster-thing, I can't even tell what it is in this one. The colors are a dull bluish-gray and an orange-yellow, which don't really complement one another and really just bleh. The size of the characters has greatly increased and has become the main focal point of this cover. I honestly feel like the illustrators couldn't decide whether to draw the characters realistically or more cartoon like and ended up doing a combination of the two. Thus creating cartoons with way to many details and unnecessary shadows. This cover is balanced asymmetrically with the dragon-monster-thing on the left and the three characters on the right which gives us the law of proximity and similarity.
If I didn't know these were the same book (or if the titles were taken away) I would think they were telling two very different stories. The context is extremely different from one another. Gestalt's law of closure in the original cover helps us to believe the dragon and kids are working together as a team. The graphic novel, on the other hand, uses the laws of proximity and similarity to make us think they are either fighting the dragon, the dragon has turned against them or they are jumping into battle. 
Overall, I would say the original cover is a much better example of good design. I would have to agree with John Maeda that simplicity can go along way and is far better than a chaotic combination.

Contrast, Balance and Harmony

I found this picture online I thought it perfectly conveyed the elements of contrast, balance and harmony that we talked about in class. The lighting in this photo focuses the audience attention to the infant's feet then down to the fatherly hands. The shadows and many different shades of gray help to provide texture to the photo. We are able to focus and see the course calloused hands, as well as, the delicate wrinkles of the soft new baby feet.
This photo shows contrast in a few different ways. First in color which ranges from deep black to almost white gray. The utter blackness gives an overwhelming sense of dread, while the lightness of the child's feet seems to say: There is hope. Second, feet and hands are opposites of one another and interestingly enough this contrast creates a sense of harmony. Third, in the evident size difference between these two.
The position and orientation of the hands say so much with so little. They seem to say how precious life is. They show the love, tenderness and protection of a father. This picture also has symmetrical  balance because of the two almost identical feet and the three fingers holding up each foot. I think the Gestalt principle that best fits this photo is the law of  pragnanz. I say this because what is more simple, yet perhaps more complicated, than life itself.

Visceral Response

When I think of something completely stupefying I think of my absolute favorite animal in the world: The White Bengal Tiger. This picture absolutely takes my breath away. When I first looked at this picture I could really only think of one word: Wow, but then as I began to look more carefully I was able to see many of the different elements we talked about in class.
There is obviously many lines within this picture. The black stripes around the tiger's face draw you in in an almost hypnotizing manner. In my opinion the shape of the face, as well as, the somewhat horizontal lines of the whiskers give the tiger a delicate, feminine, yet still ferocious disposition. To me this photo has a sense of anticipation. What is the tiger going to do next? Is it going to lunge or simply stare deeply into my sole?
Because this is a White Tiger the two dominating colors are black and white, which provides us with a perfect example of pure contrast. This also helps to highlight the value and intensity of the beautiful turquoise color of the tiger's eyes and the varying shades of gray along it's snout. The texture of the tiger's fur, which is seen most prominently around the edges of this picture, is almost tangible. Tigers, especially this tiger, seem to have a stunning symmetrical balance. All these factors working together provide a brilliant sense of harmony.

A Little About Me

Hi, I am Chase Burch. I am 19 years old I am film major and am very excited to be in this course. I love Disney, books, and I am a part of many fandoms. I am from Visalia, California and upon further research my town's flag is pitiful. 

Ugh right? Unfortunately I have little to no art skills, but I hope to be able to improve them in this class, because of this I have asked my artfully talented friends back home to step up to this challenge.  

Stop S.O.B.s!